ProRodeo Sports News - Dec. 21, 2018

WRANGLER TOUR RECAP

Curtis Cassidy won the Justin Finale in Puyallup, Wash., to help him finish the regular season atop the steer wrestling standings. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Kent Soule

He’s Back Healthy hip helps Cassidy win Justin Finale

BY SCOTT KANIEWSKI I t might have taken a little longer than he had hoped, but steer wrestler Curtis Cassidy was feeling healthy, and it showed at the Wrangler PRORODEO Tour at the Justin Finale in Puyallup, Wash., at the Washington State Fair Pro Rodeo. On Sept. 9, Cassidy added $17,960 to his bank account and to his 2018 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings after winning the Justin Finale. The big haul pushed Cassidy to the top of the charts, jumping him from fourth to first in the standings with $103,204. That helped him book trip No. 5 to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, and at the top of the world standings, no less. But getting to that point had been a long time coming. He hadn’t been to the NFR since 2014. After that appearance, Cassidy suffered a hip injury that kept him out about six months and limited him to rodeoing in Canada in 2015. In 2016, though his hip was healing, he still played it safe and stuck mostly to the Great White North. Then came his return, 2017. “In ’16, my hip was feeling better, but for the most part I stayed in Canada that summer because I didn’t think my hip would handle going all year,” said Cassidy, who turned 40 in October. “Last year, I made a late-season push and came up short to make the NFR. Having that late-season push last year spilled over into this year.”

As the 2017 season ended, Cassidy started to heat up. FromAugust to the end of the regular season, Cassidy won about $30,000. He came up short of qualifying for the 2017Wrangler NFR, finishing 21st in the world standings. But the seed had been planted, Cassidy was ready for 2018 and determined to get back to the Finals in Las Vegas. “Awesome. It’s been a long, hot, dusty trail all summer,” said the Bashaw, Alberta, cowboy. “Next week we go to Pendleton, and then the season is winding down for us. It’s a great way to basically end your season on a good note.” BREDING’S BULL RIDING LANDS PUYALLUP BUCKLE Parker Breding is 26 years old and one of the best bull riders in the world. He showed that again when he won the Justin Finale at the Washington State Fair Pro Rodeo in Puyallup to claim the Wrangler PRORODEO Tour crown. “It means the world to me to come away with the win here,” said Breding, an Edgar, Mont., native whose win put him second in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $179,683 as of Sept 11. Breding took home $9,700 from Puyallup to make a small dent in Sage Kimzey’s lead, but Breding knew if he was going to make a run at winning the world title, it would’ve had to have been in Las Vegas at the Wrangler NFR. “It plays on a guy’s mind to be winning and staying on as many bulls as

ProRodeo Sports News 12/21/2018

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